"Xmas" vs "Christmas"

Yep. It's true, you got me. I'm one of those people who write "Xmas" instead of "Christmas". It's not even out of laziness, I'm not just saving myself from writing those extra 5 letters. It's not even because "X" stands for the Greek letter "Chi" which used to mean "Christ" or whatever that story is... Nope. I do it because I don't believe in Christ, yet I celebrate the holiday with friends and family. -It's an easy way to express the idea of a non-religious Christmas. I suppose I could start calling it "Christmas-lite" if you'd prefer...

Now, let's face it. Christmas has been drifting further and further from a religious holiday for centuries now... The killer was the inclusion of Santa Clause in the 17th century. Boy, nothing takes a kid's focus off of God faster than the promise of gifts. "Hey Tommy, who do you hope comes down this chimney tonight, Jesus or Santa Clause?"

But there's no going back, so we have to deal with the present, right? Luckily Jerry Falwell's here to tell you about the war on Christmas. Yep. He says you're "either with us or against us". Now, where have I heard those words before...

So, you don't want to be "against" the good pastor! You gotta join his fight! Here's how:

• Throw away Christmas cards that don't say "Merry CHRISTmas" (including the one fromPresident Bush.)
• Boycott Wal-Mart for changing their signs to a more inclusive message: "Happy Holidays".
• Correct people when they write "Xmas" rather than "Christmas" and remind them that the son of your god died because God was mad at us for eating an apple
  

Really, people! Once again it all boils down to "us vs them". Christian and non-Christian. We're asking the Christians to give up being singled out as the only religious group in the country, and accept the acknowledgement of other religions by not screaming like a little babies when someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". 80% of the country may be Christian, but that leaves 20%, or 1/5th that are not. Unless you feel it's a personal insult that we're not a 100% Christian nation, I say get over it!

According to Wikipedia, "Christian Values" are said to be:

• worship of God: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."
• fidelity in marriage: "Whom God has joined together let no man put asunder."
• renunciation of worldly goods: "Gather not your riches up upon this earth, for there your heart will be also."
• renunciation of violence: "If a man strike you on one cheek, turn the other cheek."
• forgiveness of sins: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
• unconditional love: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

How does throwing away "Holiday" cards from friends and family, boycotting businesses who cater to everyone (not just Christians), and ranting at people over their choice of names for a holiday measure up against the stated "Christian values". Hmm... I'd give you an "F", but I don't feel qualified judging you, so I'll leave you with this:

What would Jesus do?

"Xmas" vs "Christmas" -Foreword

Yesterday, on the photography_beginners yahoogroup that I own, a member felt it necessary to post this in response to someone's story about a printing mix-up when they had some photos printed for use as Xmas cards...

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.....

Not X-mas

Do we greet eachother and say "Merry X-mas"?? No!! We say "Merry
CHRISTmas"!! Christ didn't forget about you when he died on the
cross!! We shouldn't forget about him at this time of the year (or
any other time of the year). Is it too much to type the entire
phrase?? Have we become that lazy of a society??

Sorry... that's just one of my pet peeves. We don't say happy X-
anza (quanza) or happy X-ukah (hannukah).

Ralph

Ralph's response got me a tad angry, so I went and took a shower -it's where I do my best thinking... I thought of several good responses, then thought about my goal being the list owner and knew that I had to leave all the good arguements and humerous quips behind and just stop the conversation without adding my 2¢.

By not revealing my own religious prefrence, I hoped to leave Ralph thinking about why I put him on moderation (inflamatory posting about a non-photography-related subject) rather than just being angry at me as a non-Christian trying to put his religion down.

But, I need an outlet for my frustration, so I'm picking up my uh... keyboard again and will make a blog post.